It is a new year and time to get our third annual year magnet from Disney World. Due to my school schedule (I'm going at it pretty hard so I graduate at the end of this calendar year) and trying to avoid the summer vacation crowds, the best time for us to go is the beginning of May.
In 2013, we stayed at the Shades of Green Resort. It was okay, but lacked a kitchen in the room--or even a decent size refrigerator and microwave unless we went several floors up to the laundry room, nor was there a complimentary breakfast--so we ended up having to eat out every meal (which got old fast, not to mention expensive because we were not eligible for the Disney Dining Plan--which in our case is not worth getting.)
So, once we calculated the price differential between Shades of Green and eating out every meal--breakfast, lunch, and dinner (plus 2-3 snacks per day) and the cost of a cabin (with the Miltary Discount) at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort , and eating lunch either in a park, in a resort restaurant, or in Downtown Disney and being able to get up and get our breakfast at a leisurely pace as we dress and ready for the day and then have a quiet dinner back in the cabin--we actually came out a bit ahead and the trip was much more relaxed.
Since we liked Fort Wilderness, we are going again in May. However, this time, we are going to rent an RV through myRVHotel.com. We will fly down and take advantage of the Magic Express Service and the RV company will have everything set up and the Magic Express Service will take care of getting our luggage from the airport to the camper.
For us, a kitchen is vital because of multiple food allergies and intolerances and adherence to a paleo diet (though we may loosen up on that on vacation--but not too much, lest we end up feeling poorly and grumpy and it "ruins" the vacation...)
There are a few things I'd like to do this year:
Pin Trading
Buy Mickey Hats with our names on them and get a family group picture in front of Cinderella's castle. The cast members are willing to use your camera plus, even without the Memory Maker, you can buy the pictures a la carte through the Photo Pass service.
Pressed Pennies
A Character meal. Since I know my kids would get a kick out of Stitch and Mickey, it looks like the one at Ohana is the one to go to...and they will eat a lot of breakfast foods, but dinner foods offered may be very hit or miss so we want to try for breakfast one of the days we are there.
Maybe I will have a chance to hit a spa...(not likely though...for fear of Dame Littlebit pitching a fit because I go off and leave her).
